J. W. Boodee Pictures
The crew boat J. W. BOODEE, is a Breau Baycraft built, all aluminum 65-foot boat that is USCG certified to carry 15 passengers and four crew. She has an aft deck for cargo that is 14 X 14 feet. She carries 1200 gallons of fuel divided between two tanks, and 100 gallons of water. The J. W. BOODEE is powered by two Detroit Diesel 12V-71 engines that develop 450 HP each. She also has on board a 20 KW Gen Set, that is powered by a Detroit Diesel 2-71 engine. The J. W. BOODEE typically runs at 20 kts, but speed can vary depending on the amount of cargo, and the river current.
I was only on the J.W. BOODEE for two spot jobs done for Coastal Crewboats. One of the jobs was to cover another crew boat's responsiblites while it underwent an in-the-water Coast Guard Inspection. That job was for only three days. I took the J.W. BOODEE to Dulac, Louisiana, then brought the it back to Delcambre.
The second spot job was what is called in the industry 'rig tending'. This means servicing the needs of a drilling rig that is drilling for oil or gas. The rig we were servicing was the Coastal Drilling Company, Rig #22. It was a good job, as we did not go offshore, but it only lasted two weeks.
It was the location, and the trips back and forth to the rig, that made the job so pleasant. We were running in the Atchafalaya River, and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway Port Allen-Morgan City Alternate Route. We were actually in the Atchafalaya River river for about two miles, and the remainder of the run was up or down the Port Allen-Morgan City Alternate Route. At about mile 21 on the Port Allen-Morgan City Alternate Route, we took the Old River route for about five miles to the actual drilling rig. The drilling rig is west of an area in Louisiana called Pierre Part. One is really in the cypress swamps of Louisiana when at this rig! On every daylight trip, it was very easy to spot at least 10 Bald Eaglesalong the way. T hese are just magnificent birds. Please take a look at the eagle pictures I put in the SEA SEACHER entry.
I do not have many interior pictures of the J.W. BOODEE. Most of the pictures I have here are shots of the Coastal Drilling Company, Rig #22, many of the tugs and barges servicing the rig, and of course pictures of the cypress swamp and trips up and down the route. Enjoy!!
